VEGETABLES; ARE YOU EATING ENOUGH AND HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU ACTUALLY EAT?

That vegetables are healthy we all know. But how much per day is enough? And how do you make sure you actually eat enough every day? This is still an unclear subject for people. In this article we explain how you can make sure you eat enough vegetables every day. That way, you can avoid sneaking vegetables and choosing an unhealthy snack. Read on and get answers to questions such as "How many vegetables should I eat a day?".

WHY ARE VEGETABLES SO HEALTHY?

They are tremendously healthy and important in a versatile diet. Consuming enough vegetables has repeatedly shown to have positive effects on our health. Some benefits of eating enough vegetables include:

• Most contain very few calories (fillers)
• Quite a few vegetables are rich in water, which counts toward your daily water intake
• Most vegetables contain little to no fat
• Vegetables often contain little/no sugar
• Are rich in fiber, which contributes to good bowel movement
• Many vegetables are rich in antioxidants
• Eating enough vegetables daily can lower the risk of overweight and obesity
• Eating enough vegetables can help lower high blood pressure
• Consuming vegetables helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
• May protect against various types of cancer

And so there are numerous benefits that can be linked to all kinds of vegetables. So eating enough vegetables every day is incredibly important for your health.

HOW MANY VEGETABLES A DAY IS ENOUGH?

People in the Netherlands are advised to eat 250 grams of vegetables (and two pieces of fruit) every day. The Health Council of Belgium gives slightly higher values, namely at least 300 grams per day. In principle, this should be perfectly achievable, but practice shows that this is disappointing. Especially when you consider that 250 grams per day is actually quite little. The advice in the Netherlands and Belgium therefore seems somewhat old-fashioned.
An extensive meta-analysis from 2017 shows that 250 grams of vegetables per day is quite low, if we compare this with the health benefits of consuming more vegetables daily.
The meta-analysis that analyzed as many as 95 studies concluded the following: about 800 grams of fruits and vegetables per day was still linked to increasing health benefits. This is 3x more than the amount recommended by the Dutch government. And to think that most people do not even reach the amounts set by the government. A pity of course, because eating vegetables does not have to be dirty or unpleasant.

HOW MANY GRAMS OF VEGETABLES A DAY IS TOO MUCH?

How many vegetables a day is really too much is not entirely clear. So what we can say with fairly high certainty is that 800 grams a day still carries many health benefits. The chances of someone structurally eating more than 800 grams every day are not very high, since many people do not even reach the current minimum amount of 250 grams of vegetables.

COOKED OR RAW VEGETABLES?

The amount of 250 grams per day refers to prepared vegetables. This will make little difference for cucumber or snack tomatoes, because you usually eat them raw. The amount of grams it is raw is also the amount you eat.
However, for vegetables like spinach or endive, this makes a big difference. So these vegetables shrink tremendously as soon as you throw them in the pan. For example, what used to be 100 grams of spinach will probably be only 50 grams after cooking. So you are eating only 50 grams of spinach and not 100 grams. So be careful to calculate with the amount of vegetables prepared and not with the amount of the vegetable when unprepared.

TIPS FOR EATING ENOUGH VEGETABLES

So now that you know how many vegetables a day is healthy for you, we want to end by giving you some handy tips for eating more vegetables daily. This way you can step by step eat more vegetables daily. You really don't have to make a complete turnaround and eat a lot more vegetables than you do now, as this can also be a shock to your body considering vegetables contain a lot of fiber. Just start implementing vegetables more often in your meals, and you will find that in time you will eat vegetables more easily and enjoy them more.

1. CHOOSE VEGETABLES THAT YOU CAN EASILY EAT RAW

Preparing vegetables can make them even more delicious, but this takes some time. Vegetables like carrots, snack or cherry tomatoes, cucumber and even bell peppers are great to just eat raw. That way you don't have to spend too much work preparing your vegetables, but can just start eating right away.

2. BUY PRE-CUT VEGETABLES

To make it a lot easier on yourself, you can choose pre-cut vegetables. You can find these in both the refrigerated and frozen section of your supermarket. This saves quite a bit of time, which immediately makes it a lot easier to eat more vegetables. And also the cost is lower and it lasts longer 😉

At Realsupps we also have vegetable supplements that you can use to supplement your diet.

This article was written by Jack berendsen. He is the owner of Iron Addicts.